Marketers are yet to catch up with the reality of today's women: Aparna Vedapuri Singh

Aparna Vedapuri Singh of Women's Web shares her thoughts on the current state of communications when it comes to the inclusion of women in campaigns, elaborating on the various societal tropes that infiltrate the storylines.

Aparna Vedapuri Singh, Founder & CEO of digital magazine Women's Web, leads a community of women who help each other learn and grow by providing resources and information on social issues, professional progress, entrepreneurship, balanced lifestyle, health, and personal finances.

From surfing on the first wave of blogging to developing several initiatives such as encouraging fair & inclusive workspaces, and building a platform for diverse voices, her career spans over a decade. In conversation with Social Samosa, she shares insights from first and second-hand experiences gained from the good, bad, and ugly of women's own lives, and reflects the state of a woman's role in various dimensions of marketing.

Whether it's an ad campaign storyline or a congratulatory post for Women's Day, a certain misogynistic trait is engraved in (most of) these communications. Please share your thoughts on what would be the reason for this.

I would look at the issue of women's representation in marketing communication in a slightly different way; rather than outright misogyny, (which is called out immediately). What is lacking is the full participation of women in most advertising & marketing communication, and this reflects who we as a society think are the decision-makers for various categories.

Hence, if you look at a piece of communication for atta or children's clothing, women would be centered as the decision-makers, but if you look at categories such as insurance or cars, women would be largely absent from the communication, or feature only as beneficiaries, not as the decision-makers themselves. This partly reflects the reality of society, but it is also true that many more women make critical decisions for themselves and their families, and marketers are yet to catch up with the reality of today's women.

Also Read: UN Women India and Unstereotype Alliance’s campaign calls out gender stereotypes in advertising

Do you think campaigns portray real authentic women, and do women feel represented in these content pieces?

There can be no one overarching response to this question; just as with society itself, brands today are at different stages of their evolution in understanding and representing women.

At Women's Web, we find that the campaigns which work best for brands are those which neither deify women as goddesses nor portray them as victims without agency.

The campaigns that work best are those which acknowledge the messy realities of women's lives in a changing society, which means authentic women who don't have the perfect recipe for success but are doing their best with what they have.

Publishing houses represent various industries and voice out significant concerns. How can this voice be more authentic while raising awareness around these concerns?

The best way to do this is to center women's voices (as well as the voices of others who are usually under-represented on digital and other platforms). A truly engaged community allows for a diversity of voices to come to the fore.

We are in an age where several people attempt to take efforts or actions towards these initiatives, but seem to be out of touch with the real women. How can we change this scenario?

Rather than slotting people as progressive and regressive (let's face it, we all have a lot to learn). I think the question is one of intent - do we as individuals, and as organizations, want to do better? As individuals, if we do, there are plenty of opportunities today to learn and do better.

As organizations, we need to invest in employee sensitization - people come from very different backgrounds, with varying biases and knowledge levels.

Organizations have to continue investing in interesting ways to help people question their own biases and stereotypes - initiatives that do not just consist of one workshop or online program and a mandatory certification but actually get people talking and learning.